Community Events

Indoor air quality—the air quality within and around homes, buildings, and other structures—affects our health and comfort just as outdoor air quality does. In this month’s Midday Science Cafe, we bring you two experts who are studying the impacts of indoor air pollution from two different perspectives.

Have you ever wondered about the indigenous traditions of Berkeley and the East Bay? Join us on Thursday, November 16 to hear Ohlone storytellers sharing their culture!

Catch Lawrence On-the-Go at Scientific Adventures for Girls’ STEAM night: Planet Protectors.
Build a terrarium, learn about pollinators, become a recycling expert and more!

El trabajo de Héctor consiste en secuestrar el ribosoma, haciéndolo capaz de ensamblar bloques de construcción que no son aminoácidos en moléculas que no son proteínas, con una especificidad de secuencia inigualable. Una vez que desarrollemos esta tecnología, podremos crear ribosomas capaces de crear materiales nuevos y emocionantes, como plásticos biodegradables y fibras flexibles y fuertes.

Explore everyday science at Science@Stockmen’s Park, a free monthly outdoor event for children ages three and up, teens, and adults. The Lawrence On-The-Go will bring our hands-on “Falling, Floating, Flying” activity. Design and build a floating or flying machine, then test how far it flies in our portable wind tunnel!

August’s virtual lecture is all about earthquakes! Join Dr. Sarina Patel from UC Berkeley’s Seismology Lab and Dr. Floriana Petrone from the Energy Geosciences Division at Berkeley Lab as we discuss what both institutions are doing to help Californians live safely in earthquake country. Midday Science Cafe is a virtual series that highlights compelling and complementary research from both UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, brought to you by Science at Cal’s partnership with Berkeley Lab’s Government & Community Relations Office.

Join Lawrence On-the-Go for a fun Saturday STEM Fair with Kits Cubed, an organization based in Oakland dedicated to igniting the inner scientist in every child through science kits and events.

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Oakland First Fridays with Science at Cal and The Lawrence On The Go! Explore the science of sound with two activities from our Phenomenal Physics festival.

Lithium is an essential element in energy-dense batteries and is a key ingredient for a low carbon future, but we do not currently produce enough to satisfy the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage for the electricity grid. While lithium can be found abundantly around the globe it is not found in concentrated deposits, making lithium production challenging. In this month’s Midday Science Cafe, we will first hear from Dr. Michael Whittaker, an affiliate in UC Berkeley’s Department of Earth and Planetary Science, about how to efficiently produce lithium from dilute sources, such as those found in geothermal brines underneath the Salton Sea in southern California. Next, we will hear from Meg Slattery, PhD candidate at UC Davis and former Berkeley Lab affiliate, about the importance of community engagement in developing sustainable and equitable supply chains for new energy and transportation solutions.

Rock out with science and celebrate the opening of our brand-new exhibition, Making Music: Math and Science Out Loud!

Las ranas venenosas de la fresa son anfibios diminutos que podrían caber en la uña de tu pulgar. En Centroamérica, habitan los bosques de Nicaragua, Costa Rica y Panamá…

Want to learn more about the sun and use engineering to solve problems? Join us for a free Hands-on Solar Camp this summer!

Do you think you could live on another planet? In this program you will blast off into cutting-edge science as you investigate ways to survive on Mars!

This August, California announced groundbreaking plans to phase out the production of traditional gas-powered cars by 2035. Reports show that, with the right policies, it is technically and economically feasible. But state and local leaders have just over a decade to transition how Californians drive and fuel their vehicles. Join us at this month’s Midday Science Cafe to learn more. Featuring Priyanka Mohanty, Senior Research Analyst in the International Energy Group at Berkeley Lab and Ted Lamm, Senior Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment.

Optical Illusions How do our eyes and brain work together to make sense of the world around us? Experiment and…

Join Science at Cal, The Lawrence On-The-Go, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the Fruitvale Posada Community Event.

Experience hands-on science in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood with Science at Cal and The Lawrence On-The-Go team in celebration of Dia de los Muertos. The 27th annual Dia de los Muertos Festival will take place on Sunday, October 30th from 10 am to 5 pm on International Blvd between Fruitvale Avenue and 42nd Avenue.

Con más de 1400 especies, los murciélagos poseen adaptaciones únicas entre los mamíferos, como una longevidad inusual, una respuesta inmune extraordinaria y son los únicos mamíferos con la habilidad de volar. Al estudiar los genomas de más de 36 especies de murciélagos, los científicos han encontrado evidencia de cómo estas adaptaciones han contribuido a una inmunidad y longevidad extraordinaria. Una de estas científicas, Dra. Diana D. Moreno Santillán de UC Berkeley Dept. of Integrative Biology, descubrirá estos nuevos secretos sobre los murciélagos en este espeluznante Caminos de la Ciencia el 25 de octubre.

Humans have a lot to learn from the other animals who share the Earth—some have innate abilities and senses that surpass our own, allowing us to build technologies and solutions for a better world. Featuring Dr. Mark Kline from Berkeley Lab and X-Therma and UC Berkeley scientist Dr. Phoebe Parker-Shames.

While we might be most familiar with rattlesnakes, black widows, and poison frogs (oh my!), toxins are produced or acquired by organisms in nearly every major group of life. This means that animals must avoid toxins or adapt to them. In this talk, Dr. Rebecca (Becca) Tarvin of UC Berkeley’s Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology will discuss why and how animals evolve to be both toxic and toxin resistant, including her research on how some poison frogs avoid poisoning themselves.

Grounds for Science presents Illuminating the Brain: How light, color, and a jellyfish protein help us study the mind and Programming Viruses to Harvest Solar Energy. Featuring Ph.D. Candidates Anneliese Gest and Amanda Bischoff.

Nuestro planeta Tierra es como una cebolla: está hecho de capas. Algunas son sólidas, otras líquidas, y están hechas de distintos materiales. Así como un submarino debe soportar toda la presión del océano encima, estas capas tienen que soportar la presión de todas las otras capas encima, dejando el núcleo a una descomunal presión de 3 millones de veces la presión atmosférica.

At this month’s Midday Science Cafe, we’ll take a star-studded intergalactic journey to see some of the universe’s hottest and brightest objects. Featuring Dr. Gontcho A Gontcho, Berkeley Lab and Steven Giacalone, UC Berkeley.

Featured Activity Create your own Bunny Copter with a fun, quick, hands-on STEM activity, and make a souvenir to take…

Exactly two years ago, before the new Netflix documentary series, “How to Change your Mind” premiered, the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) was founded to provide research, training, and public education on a long-standing taboo in our society: psychedelic drugs. BCSP brings together researchers from across disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, education, journalism, and molecular biology. Michael Silver, the director of BCSP and a professor in optometry and neuroscience, will provide an overview of the burgeoning center and its work to better understand the fundamental properties of the mind, brain, and body through psychedelics.

Si diriges un haz de luz a la mano, no se siente mucho, salvo un poco de calor. Pero si diriges ese mismo haz de luz hacia partículas microscópicas, la luz se convierte en una herramienta realmente poderosa capaz de capturar y mover objetos. Pareciera que al hablar de manipulación de objetos mediante la luz se está haciendo referencia a alguna escena de ciencia ficción, pero no lo es. En esta charla Dra. Francesca Burgos Bravo hablará sobre los inicios de la manipulación óptica de partículas y cómo se ha convertido en una herramienta fundamental para estudiar procesos biológicos.

As scientists continuously hunt for novel approaches to combat our energy crisis, the field of materials science has secured a spot in the fight, furthering our understanding of the properties and applications of matter. “Materials discovery” is at the heart of this research. Featuring Dr. Rachel Woods-Robinson from UC Berkeley and Dr. Matthew K Horton from Berkeley Lab.

In this lecture, Dr. Hany Farid will discuss the online disinformation landscape and what interventions are available. He will also provide an overview of how deep fakes are created, how they are being used and misused, and if and how they can be distinguished from reality.

This month’s First Fridays theme is “Family Fun,” and Science at Cal, The Lawrence On-The-Go, and Berkeley Lab are coming prepared with their most engaging and fun science activities to make First Fridays a go for the whole family!

Por 3500 millones de años organismos vivos diminutos llamados microbios han transformado el planeta. Hoy tenemos mejor ciencia para estudiar sus poderosas propiedades. Se prevé que nuestro conocimiento sobre los microbios va a influir notablemente en nuestra dieta, nuestra salud, nuestra industria y la resiliencia de ecosistemas enteros en el futuro cercano. De hecho, estamos descubriendo nuevos microbios cada día y necesitaremos su ayuda para tener una vida mejor. Durante esta presentación, la Dra. Patricia Valdespino nos dará un vistazo al futuro con la ayuda de los microbios que ella estudia.

This month’s Midday Science Cafe features two scientists putting the gene-editing tool, CRISPR, to work for the good of the Earth, both by tackling the causes of climate change (for example, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels) and by counteracting its effects on major industries, like agriculture.

Explore everyday science at Science@Stockmen’s Park, a free, accessible monthly outdoor event for children, teens, and adults. As part of this month’s Science of the Human Body event, The Lawrence-On-the-Go will present our Lights! Optics! Action! activity.

Recent advances in sequencing DNA have opened up new opportunities to use genetic data to improve our understanding of human history and evolution. For example, genetic data can be used to reconstruct migration patterns, understand how genomes change across different species or lineages, and understand how our evolutionary history impacts disease and adaptation. To illustrate this work, Dr. Priya Moorjani, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology and Center of Computational Biology, will discuss two ongoing projects.

Antes de haberse mudado a Estados Unidos, Andrea Naranjo Soledad, estudiante de doctorado en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, vivió en Bogotá, Colombia, donde vio a muchas comunidades viviendo con aire y agua contaminada, falta de alimentos, y con falta de instalaciones sanitarias. Esto la motivó a encontrar formas de ayudar a las comunidades de bajos recursos a tener acceso al agua potable. En esta presentación, ella nos compartirá cómo sus experiencias junto con el apoyo de su comunidad la ayudaron a entrar al programa de doctorado en UC Berkeley.

Join us at the Hayward Community Family Fair for food, fun, and plenty of resources for learning!

Hydrogen gas plays an important role in the future of clean energy with the potential to replace fossil fuels for many daily and essential applications, from making fertilizers to producing chemicals for plastics. In this Midday Science Cafe, we’ll be hearing from scientists who study different processes working toward the same goal: to make hydrogen fuel a clean, affordable reality.

How are new medicines discovered and developed? How can universities help create products that truly benefit patients? How do the government and private companies decide which projects to invest in? In this talk, Dr. Schaletzky, the Executive Director of Berkeley’s Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases, will highlight some innovative campaigns resulting in first-in-class therapies for patients with heart failure, cancer, and infectious diseases.

This family-friendly celebration of science and technology learning and careers will feature dozens of hands-on activities from North Bay educators…

Combine reading, art, and science with Science at Cal and The Lawrence Hall of Science at the Bay Area Book Festival in downtown Berkeley on May 7 and 8.